The Politics of Electricity in South Africa

Since 2007, South Africa has struggled with a worsening shortage of electricity. By the 2020s, it appeared that there was no end in sight to “load shedding,” or scheduled periods of electricity outages. This article considers the causes of South Africa’s electricity supply crisis as well as surprising improvements over the past year. Given high-profile recent corruption scandals in South Africa, particularly the “state capture” affair, commentators often assume that improper government interference in the technical operations of the national electricity company, Eskom, resulted in the company’s inability to develop sufficient supply capacity. In fact, Eskom and the government have historically been indispensable partners, operating in a relationship of conflict and compromise.